


Valued Information

by Rookmoon



Series: Nano 2020 [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Akamaru is a little shit, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Genderless, Literal Sleeping Together, Misunderstandings, Only One Bed, Other, everyone is oblivious, genderless reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:48:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27588385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rookmoon/pseuds/Rookmoon
Summary: Information is a very valuable thing to Shinobi. That's a well known fact. Information is key, and you need to get some to a town to the east of Konoha along with Kiba and Akamaru. Little do you know, there's some important outside information that you couldn't count on.Apparently, spending two weeks with someone is enough to get you to realize some inconvenient things.
Relationships: Inuzuka Kiba/Reader
Series: Nano 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2001583
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	Valued Information

It started with a simple mission. Deliver a scroll to an official in Morai City, about a week’s travel to the east of Konohagakure, and return home. It’s a simple mission. Easy enough for only two shinobi to be assigned to the task, and with the village’s efforts being as thin as they are right now, it’s an advantage that can’t be passed up for a three man squad.

That’s how you end up leaving town with Kiba and Akamaru beside you, being wished well by the gatekeepers as you make your way through the forest towards your destination. A town a week away, with only forest between you and your goal.

That was a few days ago. Before now, it’s been quiet, but it seems like your luck might be taking a turn.

Luckily, there's no sign of any enemies, but Akamaru has been a little squirrely for the last hour, and now you can see why.

Storm clouds loom way off in the distance, and the wind is only picking up more. The air around you is already growing colder.

"There should be a town up ahead." Kiba says, eyeing the sky. The sight of shadowy clouds casting a grim shadow over his face. “We can find somewhere to ride out the storm there.

You look at Akamaru, who's tucked close to Kiba’s side, even though the dog is the size of a small horse.

“Alright, let’s see what we can find.” you say.

The tops of the trees are moving with the force of the wind, and dust drifts across the dirt path in front of you, twisting through the trees ahead of you as you approach a town. It’s not large, but it seems like it should be big enough to have somewhere to spend the night.

Thunder cracks in the distance.

“Thank you.” You very sarcastically say to the sky, as if you need another reminder of the oncoming storm.

The town’s gate isn’t as big as the one in Konoha, but still, it’s still a welcome sight.

Akamaru wastes no time in getting inside, and Kiba is right behind him. You’re the last one to pass through the gate, but you stand beside your teammates and take in the town.

You see people pass by, going about their business. A few of them look up at you, but no one says anything.

“I’ll go see if I can get directions.” You say, approaching one of the villagers.

Kiba nods, and Akamaru looks up at the sky as thunderous clouds approach. The dog whines high in the back of his throat as Kiba takes a deep breath, calming breath. That doesn’t stop his eyes from thinning a little bit. He bristles, and you would almost think his hair puffed up a little before he visibly relaxes again.

Kiba takes a measured breath and looks at his dog while you speak to one of the passersby. He gives him a scratch behind his big floppy ears to hopefully calm Akamaru down. “Don't worry, Akamaru. We'll find somewhere to stay." He turns to you, "We should make this quick. That storm isn't getting any further.”

“We could see if we can find someplace to stay the night, but it’ll have to be somewhere that’s okay with dogs.” Kiba says, pausing to smell the air. “If anything, the hotel should be on a main street, so it’ll be where there are more people.”

Kiba starts walking, following his nose to food, and hopefully, a place to sleep.

You follow him through the unfamiliar town until he stops in front of a busy street.

Kiba nods, an uncertain look gives way to determination. "Alright. Let's do this."

The two of you walk into a building. The door swings shut behind you, and the first thing you see is a woman looking at Akamaru with shifting eyes and stiff movements.

Akamaru steps inside, and she squeaks with mounting terror.

Well, shit. Akamaru ducks his head, but the woman stands stock still, watching every movement the dog makes like she’s afraid it’s gonna do something.

You take that as your cue to leave.

“That went well.” Kiba sighs, taking in the rain falling around the three of you. “Maybe we’ll have better luck at the next place.”

The next person doesn’t flinch when they see Akamaru, but they still don’t allow you to stay, saying that a dog that big wouldn’t be worth the trouble. The next place you try doesn’t have any rooms free. Eventually, you find a seller that points you towards another inn that should have a room free for the night.

Over the course of the next twenty minutes the three of you spend criss crossing your way around town, you discover something a little depressing. Even though there are a lot of inns and hotels that would be willing to put Shinobi up for the night, there weren't as many that would let a dog as big as Akamaru in. Even if he's well trained and friendly.

Also, you’ve been reminded of how hard it is to get a room later in the day, and when there’s bad weather.

The three of you go from one place to another, asking if there are available rooms, and if they allow large pets. The storm is getting closer. It’s raining harder and you can hear thunder rumble in the distance. Fat drops hit the dirt paths, making little puddles as you go to the last place in town. You really hope that this place has a room.

It’s an older building, but it looks comfortable. You head to the door and nod to Kiba.

You open the door, eager to get out of the cold and sigh as a warm draft hits your face. You glance back to Kiba. “You coming?”

“Nah, I’ll stay out here with Akamaru.” Kiba leans onto the side of the building. Akamaru sits down next to him, and you head inside to see what you can do about getting a room.

You trail puddles in after you as you approach your desk, and you hope that it doesn’t hurt your chances.

The woman behind the counter smiles at you from the other side of the reception desk.

“Welcome! Is there anything I can do for you?” she said.

“Hi, do you have any rooms free? Me and my friends are looking for somewhere to wait out the storm.” You say to the clerk.

“Let me see…” She looks through the booking list.

You feel hope swell in your chest as she looks up at you.

“It looks like we have one room left. How many guests do you have?”

“There’s two people, and a dog.” You say, looking around at the cosy reception area. “You do allow pets here, right?”

“Pets are fine as long as the dog behaves itself. Of course, you would be responsible for any damages.” The woman nods. “The room does only have one bed, though. If that’s alright with you and your friend.”

You think about it for a second. “That should be fine. If anything, the rooms have a couch, right?”

“Yes, we do have full accommodations.”

“Then, I’ll take it.” If anything, you figure that one of you can take the couch, and the other can have the bed.

The woman hands you the paperwork for a room, and you look it over.

You’re more than happy to sign whatever they want you to. Soon enough you go outside to see Kiba standing underneath the shelter of the awning, listening to the hiss of falling rain while Akamaru walks around, looking up at the sky. Akamaru snaps at the rain, trying to catch droplets in his mouth as Kiba watches him with a grin playing at his lips. You nudge him and hand over a key.

“We’ve got a room.”

Kiba turns that little smile on you, and you congratulate yourself on a job well done.

Kiba’s face lights up and your shivering little group goes inside to warm up and settle in for the night. Soaking wet dog, and all.

Half an hour later, you and Kiba have both taken hot showers and are in your pajamas getting ready for bed.

One bed.

Shit, you kinda forgot about that.   
Kiba is quick to make himself comfortable on the one bed near the middle of the room.

“You can have the bed if you want.” You say, shuffling yourself towards the couch, where there’s a single throw draped over the back, and not a single spare blanket anywhere. You sigh, resigning yourself to a night on a couch with your sleeping bag. Honestly, there are worse ways to sleep, but that doesn’t stop you from feeling sad about it.

“Ya know, you could sleep over here too.” He looks over at you, where you stay rooted to your little spot like a deer facing down headlights. “If you wanna.”

Thoughts race through your head, and you can’t stop them. You mentally curse yourself for freezing like that, and immediately start working out the pros and cons.

Would it be worth it to sleep next to Kiba? Hell, yes. Still, there’s more to it than that. What if you end up cuddled around him in your sleep? What if you talk in your sleep and he hears you? What if you say something embarrassing? God, what if you fart? You don’t know if you’d ever live that down. Not when Kiba would smell it immediately.

Kiba and Akamaru pile onto the bed like they do this every night, and Kiba pats the bed next to him, inviting you to get all comfy and cosy for the night.

You try to take a breath, feeling overwhelmed and more than a little nervous as your heart thuds in your chest.

Kiba is already in some soft looking sleep clothes, and you’re standing there wondering if you’re actually going to do this right now. If you’re going to share a bed with Kiba. You can almost picture how nice it’s going to be, just by how comfortable he looks on his own, nestled in among the plush pillows.

You’re not ready for this. Nope. You may have imagined it happening in the darkness of your own room, but that’s completely different from this.

Damn, you can feel your heart beating faster just thinking about it.

Kiba, apparently, isn’t thinking about it nearly as much as you are. He waves you over with an impatient wave.

“C’mon, jus’ get in here. Being nervous about it ’s only gonna make it weird.” He yawns, and Akamaru shakes his head before he picks himself up off of the bed where he had settled.

You watch the giant hound walk towards you, unsure of the dog’s intent.

The dog sneezes at you as he goes behind you and nudges you closer to the bed, and Kiba, who’s still sprawled over half of it. Your eyes shoot open wide when Akamaru nudges you closer to a very comfortable looking Kiba, who’s openly laughing at you.

Great. Just what you need right now.

“Alright, alright.” You give a half hearted swat to Akamaru’s side, trying to get him to stop. “I’m going, you big lug.”

The dog presses into your side instead of your back, giving you perfect access to his favorite place to be scratched, just like he always does when he wants attention from you.

“You know, it’s a lot easier to pet the dog while sitting down.” Kiba insists, all while Akamaru’s leaning almost knocks you over, “Here, on this bed, where it would be the perfect height for dog petting.”

“It’s no problem.” You say, scratching at Akamaru’s side while he presses more of his weight into your ribs. “I’m fine here.”

You aren’t fine just standing there, but you’re not about to admit that Akamaru is slowly but surely pushing you closer to a wall where he’s sure to squish you.

A knowing grin stretches across his face as he watches you tip a little more off balance. “Really? Doesn’t look like it from where I sit.”

The sly bastard laces his fingers together behind the back of his head and leisurely leans back onto the pile of pillows the hotel had provided. His eyes are on you the whole time, and you can feel the beginning of an embarrassing heat going up your neck.

Trying to push it down does nothing to help you, so instead you huff and bury your face in dog fur. Waiting for the sweet release of death by dog.

Akamaru’s fur is fluffy enough for the job, but the dog moves away from you to go bug Kiba, and you’re left standing awkwardly in front of the bed that your friend and teammate is lounging on.

“I don’t see why it’s such a big deal to share a bed with me.” Kiba says, his playful expression falls while he scratches Akamaru. “If sleeping with me is that bad, then maybe we should find somewhere else to go.”

“There is nowhere to go.” Is what you end up saying. Palm, meet forehead. It’s the truth, but you didn’t want to say it like that.

Kiba looks up at you, his eyes sharp and focused in a way you hadn’t seen from him before. His eyes shine.

You’re too busy trying to get your foot out of your mouth when he scowls and turns away from you completely.

Thunder cracks overhead, and you can hear the rain through the roof.

“You know what, I’ll just sleep on the couch.” Kiba growls. “I didn’t wanna share with you anyways.” He swings his legs over the side of the bed. “You can have the bed if you want it.”

He brushes past you, and you can’t stop yourself before you reach out to him. Your hand on his shoulder is all it takes.

“Why don’t you just stay here?” You ask.

Kiba looks back at you. The doubt and pain in his face is enough to twist your heart. He shakes his head. “Nah, it’s fine. Just thought… Nevermind what I thought.”

“Kiba, it’s-”

“I swear if you say ‘it’s not like that’.” His glare softens, and he stands up. Your hand slides off of his shoulder. “I can’t take this anymore.”

“Then don’t.” You say, not quite understanding what he’s talking about. “If something’s bothering you, then then don’t take it.”

His face twists in confusion as he looks back at you. “It’s kinda funny, hearing that from you.”

“I should take my own advice.” You nod, pressing your lips together and tapping a toe on the wood floor. “Right. Well, if you want to sleep on the bed, it’s fine. It’s better than fine.”

Sharp eye narrow as he takes in your fidgeting. “Are you saying you want the couch?”

This time, you aren’t backing out. “Uh, no. Not exactly.”

Kiba sits back down looking like he doesn’t quite believe what’s happening.

You make yourself comfortable underneath the heavy blankets. “Why don’t you lay down?”

Kiba is quiet as he slowly lowers himself back to where he was, but now he doesn’t look nearly as comfortable as he stares up at the ceiling. You roll to face him as Akamaru clambers up onto the foot of the bed and makes himself comfortable over everyone’s feet.

Kiba turns the light off, and casts the room into darkness.

You can still see Akamaru’s eyes flash as lightning outside makes the dog flinch. You look to where Kiba is, and see just the faintest shine in his eyes as well.

He’s still looking up at the ceiling like it’ll tell him all the secrets in the world. Akamaru burrows himself underneath the blankets before he settles on Kiba’s side of the bed, right where Kiba can run his hands through Akamaru’s thick fur.

“Penny for your thoughts?” You ask quietly, not sure if he wants to talk to you right now.

Kiba grunts.

“Alright.” you sigh, snuggling into the pillows a little more. “If you wanna tell me what’s up, I’m right here.”

Kiba’s eyes dart to you in the dark. The silence drags on.

“Why?” He eventually asks. “Why do you do this?”

“Huh?” You mutter, getting closer to the fuzziness between sleep and the waking world.

“Why did you not want to sleep in the bed and then change your mind about it?”

“Didn’t change my mind.” Is all you can say before you fall asleep, unaware of the revelation Kiba just had over that little tidbit of information. His jaw gone slack as he thinks it over.

You feel him shift as you drift off.

The next morning, you wake to find that you and Kiba had latched onto each other in the middle of the night. You wake up face to neck with him, and his face buried in your hair.

Kiba snores into your hair, and you let yourself take your time with waking up. Even though you’re considering going back to sleep already.

Still, you don’t pass up the opportunity to enjoy Kiba looking so relaxed and peaceful. At least, he’s peaceful until a snore rumbles out of his chest. You snicker to yourself, and just let yourself be for a little bit.

It feels nice, having him cuddled so close to you. He’s warm and comfortable and soft and you don’t bother trying to resist as you relax further into his arms, welcoming the sleep that’s starting to creep back into your mind without a second thought.

You deserve some rest. The mission can wait a little longer. Just until Kiba wakes up, and then you’ll go. No problem.

The next time you open your eyes, Kiba is watching you carefully. His pupils are blown wide, and the smile on his face is so that it does funny things to your heart.

_ I could get used to this. _ You think to yourself, before realizing what you just thought.

Kiba must have been thinking something along those lines as well, because next time your eyes meet, his whole face is lit up with a furious blush. Even his ears are tinged with it.

You slowly pull your arms away from Kiba’s warmth, already missing having your arms around him when he starts separating himself as well. He straightens his legs, carefully pulling them away from where they were tangled up with yours.

You hadn’t even realized until he started moving.

Akamaru huffs as he gets up and shakes himself awake. He barks at Kiba.

Kiba runs a hand over his face, and scruffs it through his hair. He stands, and you see that his shirt got stuck halfway up his chest. He tugs the fabric back down like he didn’t just give you a perfect view of the toned skin beneath.

Your old friend is the perfect mix between muscular and cuddly, and you try to think of what you wouldn’t give to wake up with him every day.

If only you didn’t get in your own way all the time.

Still, you put it out of your mind. The moment is gone, and you don’t have the courage to try and breach the subject.

After you’re fully awake and everything is packed up and ready to go, you follow Kiba out of the room, and check out.

By the time you’re out of the hotel and under the open sky again, the sun is well past noon.

“Kiba?”

“Yeah?” He almost sounds hopeful.

“Are we still gonna make it on time? I know we don’t have too far to go now, but do you think we slept for too long?”

Kiba shakes his head, a trace of the smile you woke up to still lingers on his face. “We’ve been making good time, so it should be fine. It’ll still be a few days before we get where we’re going.” “Besides, I think we slept just the right amount.”He glances at you, a cocky smirk lighting up his face. “Don’t you?”

Akamaru barks. You have no idea what he’s saying, but Kiba laughs, and pats his best friend on the ribs with hard thumps.

“Akamaru slept like a log. That usually doesn’t happen.” He looks over at you, a sly smile on his face. “He must trust you a lot to sleep that deeply.”

You’re not sure what to say to that, still too stunned in your own silence to really get what he’s saying.

Instead, you nod, “I’m glad he slept well.”

Kiba turns away, but you still catch him rolling his eyes at you.

“Ya know, ya really don’t get it.” He murmurs to himself. Akamaru nudges his arm, but Kiba doesn’t really react. He’s too lost in whatever he’s thinking about. He hums to himself every now and then, but doesn’t say anything else.

The silence left in your aborted conversation is broken only by the sounds of the forest as you walk. Crickets make themselves known, and birds call in distant trees.

Kiba is focused only on the path ahead, buried deep in thought as he is. You try to just enjoy the quiet, like you sometimes do on evenings with him, but something doesn’t sit right with you.

A stiff breeze blows past the three of you. Every footstep echoes through the trees around you among the sound of birds.

It takes a lot of effort for you to enjoy that kind of thing while you’re busy stealing glances at an overly relaxed Kiba.

Dirt crunches under your feet as you walk, following alongside Kiba and his dog. You try to think of what to say to break the silence that has settled around you like thick fog since you left the inn, and the town itself behind you.

Kiba’s walking next to you with his hands in his pockets, without a care in the world.

You’re not buying his posturing for a second. Something’s going on, and you know exactly what it is.

It takes a minute before Kiba says, “I know you were awake before me the other night.” He says it in a way that’s irritatingly casual. His eyes don’t waver from the horizon as he speaks, but you still feel the sharpness of his gaze on you as you walk next to him. You’re not sure what to say to that. He glances at you and continues. “I felt you moving around.”

It’s only conscious effort that keeps your feet from rooting themselves to the ground in that moment. Apprehension grows in your stomach, twisting into fear and settling there like a stone.

Kiba looks back at you, a strangely wistful smile is on his face as he continues. “but it was so comfortable. I didn’t wanna get up.” Kiba strides further down the path, towards the final destination for this particular mission.

“You were awake the whole time?”

“Well, not the whole time. You move around a lot, so it was easy to know when you started clinging to me.”

“Wait, but you sleep deeper than I do.” You point out.

Kiba scratches his head. “Yeah, but it wasn’t just me.”

Well, shit. Looks like you’ve gotten yourself into some trouble with that one.

“Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it. I just wasn’t expecting it, is all.” Kiba says, watching you carefully from where he’s walking.

You nod, trying to hide your embarrassment. You know full well that it doesn’t work nearly as much as you’d like it to, but you can’t stop your heart from beating faster, or the way you fidget.

“I’m… I hope you at least got enough rest.” You say.

“Yeah, actually. It was the best sleep I’ve had in awhile.” Kiba sends a knowing look your way, but you’re too busy trying to not make a fool of yourself to notice the affection in his eyes.

“That’s good.” You think for a minute before confessing, “I didn’t think I’d sleep that well. It was really nice.”

That’s something a person who’s not completely in love would say, right?

“Really? That’s good to know.”

Part of you knows that there’s a deeper meaning to that, but you can’t afford to think about it right now.

Instead, you decide to think about it for hours after the fact. Like when he’s sound asleep next to you in a tent, and you’re awake because you can’t get the feeling of his arms around you out of your head. He still snores as Akamaru shifts behind him on the other side of the tent.

More than anything, you wish he was closer.

It’s a lot colder than you thought it would be, and you feel it bite through you, even though you and Kiba had decided to share one tent this time for exactly that reason. You resist trying to get closer to him, insead wrapping yourself up tighter and falling into another light sleep.

You wake up a few times, always feeling a little chilly underneath your blankets while Kiba lays next to you looking as warm as ever.

You could almost feel the heat of his arm over your waist and you sigh.

Maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to get closer. It’s not like anything is happening.

You fall asleep before you can pull away from him again, and this time, you don’t wake up until morning, where you’re alone in the tent.

When you climb out of the tent, still a little sleepy, as the warm blankets and pillows tempt you back into sleeping longer.

Kiba is tending a fire, poking at a couple of fish that are sizzling over the flames.

The two of you awkwardly greet each other. The silence that follows is uncomfortable, at best, so you sit down next to the fire, thinking about food.

Kiba is the first one to say something.

“Ya know, I really wouldn’t mind doing that again.” He doesn’t look at you, but you know full well what that means. “Sleeping with you was a lot warmer than it usually is with me and Akamaru.”

A shiver runs up your spine under his sharp eyes.

“Well, it has been getting colder lately. It would make sense to spend the night in the same tent again.” You say look at the trees lining the clearing and away from Kiba’s searching eyes.

“...Okay, yeah. We can do that.” Kiba stands up and clears his throat. “Well, now that’s settled, let’s get going. We woke up a little late.”

It doesn’t take long for the tent to be taken down and the bags to be packed again. Soon, you’re on the road again. Together, the two of you walk, getting ever closer to the end of whatever the mission, and you get the feeling that his new closeness will end with the mission.

Thinking about it makes you nervous. The feeling that Kiba is just throwing you a bone when he doesn’t feel anything towards you other than the same camaraderie that he shares with his other friends, other people that he teases with much more recklessness than the way he messes with you.

Then again, he has always been more soft when you’re around, from what you’ve heard.

“You know,” You say, trying your best to be casual about what you’re trying to say, “I wouldn’t mind spending the night with you again. You’re comfy, and Akamaru is the best heater I’ve ever come across.” You smile like you’re joking, and like you’re completely serious about it.

Kiba laughs, and Akamaru huffs.

“Oh, come on Akamaru. You know you slept as well as we did.” He scruffs behind Akamaru’s ear, and the dog grumbles again.

Still, you walk the well worn path beside the two of them. You’re glad that you can be friends with the both of them. Even when Akamaru pushes into Kiba and runs around the both of you, barking loudly. Kiba chases after him when he runs off, laughing the whole way.

“Ya comin’ or what?” Kiba shouts behind him. “Don’t get left behind!”

“Well, I’m not walking the other way.” You shout, laughing as you catch up to the two of them as they run through the woods.

“Get up here, then.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m coming, you big lug.”

Kiba’s laughter rings through the air as he chases after his friend. You know that the only destination in mind is the mission, but you can’t deny that this is fun. The mission comes first, but part of you gets a feeling that Kiba is running towards something else as well.

That night, the humans set up camp and Akamaru lounges in a tree, chomping on a branch that’s half gone. When it’s time for bed, the three of you sleep in a pile, just like you have for the last couple of nights.

It’s not easy for you. You wake up again and again while Kiba and Akamaru snooze. You’re too busy thinking about how comfortable you are, and how peaceful Kiba looks in the moonlight.

You don’t want this to stop any time soon, even when you get back to the village.

You don’t mention the fact that you didn’t get much sleep when you help break camp. You also don’t mention that you spent most of the night thinking about him when you weren’t passed out in his arms.

Much later in the night, you wake up and catch a glimpse of Kiba, sound asleep. Your eyes trace over the tattoos on his cheeks, and the curve of his lips.

_ I wonder what his lips would feel like?  _ You think to yourself, an idle smile falls as realization dawns on you.

Of course, you’ve always cared for Kiba. You’ve known him for years, but when did it go from friendship to something different? The warmth for him that lives in your chest feels too familiar for this to be a new thing, but it’s still strange.

All the times he teased you, or told a dumb joke, or pulled you close you slipped a little further into that safe familiarity.

You could tell each other anything, and you knew it. You trust Kiba more than anyone else.

The full realization of the feelings you’d kept quiet flooded through your mind.  _ Oh. _

Of course, now that you’re aware of your growing feelings for Dog boy, you feel the need to do something about it. You just aren’t sure what to do with the information quite yet.

You think about the mission. You can’t risk telling him until after it’s over.

Maybe, if things go well, you’ll tell him before, but it’s not likely.

The road to the gate leads you out of town, and the two of you chatter to one another as another day passes you by.

“I wanna go get some meat. After a mission this long, Akamaru and I deserve something special when we get home.” Kiba glances towards you, a taunting half grin on his face. “You can come with us, if you want.”

“Sure.Food sounds perfect right now.” Your mouth is watering at the thought of freshly grilled meat, but it’s far from the only thing on your mind when he looks at you like that.

You’re sure he knows exactly what he’s doing. His grin shifts into a satisfied smirk as your stomach does flips.

Kiba’s stomach grumbles. He looks away, a flush on his neck, and you snicker at him.

“Maybe we should find something to eat.” You say, “Let’s find somewhere to set up for the night. I’ll get the fire going and a tent set up if you wanna hunt down something to eat.”

It’s not hard to find a clearing that you can use.

“Let’s go see what we can find, boy.” Kiba says to Akamaru.

Akamaru barks, and the two of them dash off into the trees in search of food.

While they’re busy with that, you go to collect enough wood to cook the food, and keep the team warm until it’s time for bed. After that, you get started with the first tent.

By the time Kiba and Akamaru return, they've got two rabbits that are ready to be prepared and cooked.

You've finished up with the fire, and are most of the way through setting up one of the tents after nearly getting sidetracked by all the internal and external screaming you haven’t been able to do yet. Honestly, at this point, you’re really looking forward to the external bit.

Before you can get to the other tent, Akamaru walks right past you, picks up the other tent, and walks away.

“Akamaru, give that back.” You try to be stern, but Akamaru doesn’t give a shit.

He doesn’t even put the strap of the tent down to bark at you. He just looks at you long enough to let you know that he heard you before he turns and walks towards where Kiba’s skinning rabbits and tending the fire.

You approach the dog, who makes himself comfortable by the heat of the fire, and on top of the tent.

Kiba sits next to him like he doesn’t realize that his dog is keeping your tent hostage while he slowly turns the rabbit meat over the fire.

The dog gets comfy on top of the collapsed tent, and Kiba doesn’t do a damn thing to stop him. You almost don’t want to try.

“Akamaru, can I have the tent back?” Your hope that this stubborn dog is willing to listen to someone that isn’t Kiba fizzles and dies as he glances up at you for a second and goes back to drooling at the cooking meat.

Alright, time for plan B.

“Kiba? Wanna give me a hand?” You ask, hoping that he might do something about his partner and friend.

Kiba pauses, still focused on the food. “Well… wouldn’t it be better to use just one tent?” He asks instead of doing anything about the tent that’s still sitting underneath his dog’s paws.

Kiba shifts and your brain blanks for a moment before you realize that he asked you a question. Mostly, it’s because he’s looking up at you with those gold flecked eyes, and you’re being pulled in.

You blink yourself back to his question. “Uh, sure... That’s fine with me.” You look up at the sky while you think up something to say that isn’t overly enthusiastic and way out of line with anyone you consider a friend. What you come up with is, “It’s been getting colder lately.” You mentally give yourself a high five for not shoving your foot in your mouth.

“Exactly.” Kiba says. He pokes at the fire with a stick, and it sparks as the stack of wood shifts. “We can pile up all the blankets and sleep in a pile again.”

“Sure!” You can’t keep the dopey grin off of your face.

Kiba noda, and turns the two rabbits that he’s roasting on a spit over the fire.

Akamaru raises his head to look over at you. He barks, and his tail thumps the ground like he isn’t being a massive shit right now. You don’t have to speak Dog to know that he’s fine with that plan. Still, it’s hard to stay mad at Akamaru. Whether he knows what he’s doing or not, it’s not like you’re opposed to sleeping in the same tent as Kiba and him.

You duck inside the tent, and put all of the blankets in the middle of the tent. Packs get lined up along one side of the tent, and you’re done.

Now that you don’t have much else to do, you settle in front of the fire across from Kiba as he cooks.

The rabbit turns over a crackling fire, and you watch as Kiba tends the meat. Your mouth waters at the smell of smokey fats sizzling on the skin of the rabbits as the smell of cooking meat wafts through the air. Kiba eyes the rabbit before he makes sure it’s done.

“How much longer?” You ask.

He cuts it open and takes a look at the meat inside. “Looks just about done to me. A few more minutes should do it.”

When the rabbit is done, the meat is divvied up. Akamaru gets one rabbit to gnaw on while Kiba splits the other one with you.

Every bite of meat is chewy and full of spice found around the area, and it’s honestly delicious. It’s everything you could hope for in a meal right now. Kiba digs in, looking very proud of himself as you stuff your face.

You eat your food, trying to make sure you don’t make a huge mess while you enjoy your food. When it’s finally gone, you lay on the dirt next to the fire, just enjoying the crackling heat while you let yourself digest.

Kiba sighs from where he’s leaning on Akamaru. “You comfy down there?”

You nod, almost too tired to do anything else with yourself for a little while.

Kiba stands up and stretches. He gives a satisfied groan and rolls his shoulders out a few times.

“Ya know what? I’ll take first watch. You go ahead and go to sleep.” Kiba makes himself comfortable next to the fire as you look up at him from where you’re still sprawled out on the ground.

“Thank you, Kiba.” You smile up at him, in awe of your luck. You slowly pick yourself up off of the ground to make good on his offer. “Wake me up when you get tired. I’ll take over.”

Akamaru yawns and stretches from where he lays beside Kiba. The dog looks back at his companion before he follows you into the tent and immediately falls asleep in the middle of the blanket pile.

You manage to tug one of the blankets out from under the giant bastard dog. Akamaru grumbles as you get the damn thing out from under him, and curl up nearby, perfectly fine with mooching warmth from each other.

It takes a while for you to fall asleep, saying as Akamaru shifts and lays his massive head on your stomach. You try to steady your breathing underneath Akamaru’s stubborn weight.

The dog turns onto his side and nuzzles his head closer to you. You don’t have the heart to push his massive noggin off of you, so you resign yourself to pillow duty for the night.

You try to go to sleep, but you find yourself thinking about what happened in town. Mostly, the fact that you woke up to cuddling with Kiba. You fall asleep thinking about it, and the next thing you know, Kiba’s shaking you awake. It’s still dark and chilly, so you pull yourself out of bed with minimal grumbling and go take your turn for watch.

It’s increasingly hard not to say anything to him about it. Now that you know what’s going on, the only thing you want to do is spill your guts as soon as humanly possible. Still, you don’t know for sure how Kiba feels about the whole situation. Yeah, he said he wouldn’t mind sleeping in the same bed as you, but it still nibbles at the edge of your mind.

Yeah, he was really quick to offer to share his sleeping space with you, but what if it was just because he didn’t wanna be cold? The two of you had done that before in the winter on missions, and it was no different from how it usually is, but it’s different now.

You remember the time you caught him walking around in shorts after the first snow last season, and can reliably cross the cold off of the list of things Kiba would worry about.

Akamaru shifts as you get up, and cracks one of his big eyes open to watch you for a while before the dog huffs, makes himself comfortable again, and goes back to sleep. Lucky mutt.

Usually, you wouldn’t think much of it, but something about the knowing look on the dog’s face gives you some ideas.

Kiba lays down as soon as you’re up, and he’s snoring before you even make it out of the tent to wait for dawn.

It feels like it takes forever, but you tend the low fire with little sticks while you wait. The burning coals drive off a bit of the cold, and you entertain yourself with poking at the bright little patches of light.

Coals burn and fall apart under your watch as the sun starts making its way towards the horizon.

By the time you wake Kiba up, the sun is just past the mountains looming in the distance.

The two of you break camp and go on your way towards the gates leading into Morai City, and the end of your mission.

It’s only a few more hours of walking before your little group arrives at the gates of Morai city. The official you need to find is in the clerk's office, and isn’t very hard to find.

You hand off the scroll with little fanfare and follow Kiba to the communications tower to send a hawk back to Konoha. Kiba writes a short update to the Hokage, detailing success and that the three of you will make your way back to the village as soon as possible.

The letter is tied to the messenger hawk’s leg, and it’s sent on its way. The bird flies out of the window, circling the building a couple of times before leaving the city and heading west, leaving you and Kiba to begin the journey back to Konohagakure behind it.

Most of the journey back that first night is spent in the satisfied quiet that comes with a mission nearly finished.

Still, your realizations tail your thoughts, circling each other like the twittering birds chasing after each other in the tree branches above you.

You watch as they dart through the branches and sigh.

Now that the only goal is to make it home, it’s only getting harder to justify not saying anything, you think about telling him what’s been on your mind since before the two of you had delivered the scroll. Carefully, you weigh out the pros and cons in your head as the two of you walk, each lost in thought.

In the quiet of the afternoon and the privacy of your own mind, you quietly admit to yourself that you’re afraid of what might happen if Kiba finds out.

Sunlight beams through the leaves and cast their golden glow on the path before you, and you get the feeling that if there was ever a time for a confession, it should probably be sooner rather than later.

This clashes directly with not wanting to say anything in the first place. You’re still working. Even if it is just the walk home, it’s still a mission. Even if it’s almost laughably easy for you and Kiba, you know it’s not a good time. Things are going pretty well right now, though. So you don’t think it would be too bad to say something. There’s just the fear of everything else that could go wrong with a confession.

That night, as the two of you hang out in front of the fire, you take your foot out of your mouth and say something.

“Hey, Kiba?” You sit down next to him. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Yeah? What’s up?”

You take a deep breath, and prepare yourself to rip off the bandaid and just get it over with. “Nothing much. Just wanted to tell you about the feelings that are burning a hole in my gut.”

“That… doesn’t sound very good.” Kiba gives you a look that makes it very obvious that you’re not making any sense. Figures.

“Not anything bad.” You wince and scratch the back of your head. “I meant to say that I love you. Been thinking about it for a while. Figured we’re on an easy mission. Might as well say something.”

That really gets Kiba’s attention. He almost drops the fire stick in his hands as it clicks.

“How long is a while?”

You stare at the ground, wanting it to open up and swallow you whole. “I realized earlier this week, but honestly I think it’s been a lot longer than that.”

Kiba just sits there for a minute or two while you try very hard not to fidget while you’re pinned by his stare. When he does say something, it’s not anything close to what you thought he might say.

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” He asks, confused. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that you told me, but still. I don’t get it. Why would you wait?”

“Kiba, what is there to get?” You shrug, not wanting to broadcast how much it hurts. To Kiba, that only made it more obvious. You continue, “I thought you wouldn’t want to spend time with me anymore if you knew, so I just... didn’t say anything.”

“You know,” Kiba says. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to say to you for a while.”

“Yeah?” A small ray of hope lights in your chest.

“Yup.” Kiba wraps an arm around you, and you let him pull you closer as he continues. “I’ve had a crush on you for a while, too.”

You can’t believe what you’re hearing for a second. You’re sure that you just imagined him saying that. The dazed look on your face makes Kiba smile.

He tilts his head down at you, making the firelight catch in the gold flecks in his deep brown eyes. “Everything alright over there?”

You nod slowly, still trying to process the fact that Kiba just told you that he’s had feelings for you. For a while, however long that means. It doesn’t really matter. The smile that splits your face is blinding. You hug him tight and he carefully presses his face into your hair.

“Hey, is it cool if I do something else I’ve wanted to do for a while?” He asks. His face coming closer to yours.

You decide to mess with him, just a little bit. “Depends on what you’ve got in mind.”

His face is so close to you when he finally speaks. “Can I kiss you?”

The breath hitting your face is warm, and you nod.

You close the gap yourself, and let your lips mingle with his. You don’t even notice when your eyes flutter closed.

It doesn’t last long, but it’s all you need in that moment.

You part, and you almost don’t want to open your eyes. The trace of his lips still tingle against yours.

It takes more effort than it really should, but you manage to open your eyes and see Kiba, stock still with his eyes closed.

When his eyes do open, his pupils are blown wide as his face melts into a gooey, lovesick grin.

You’re so sure that Kiba is going to kiss you again when he leans towards you. Instead, he brushes his nose against yours, takes a deep breath, and boops your nose with his before he backs up again.

You’re taken aback for a moment before your very clever brain manages to spit out, “Did you just… Boop me?”

“Yup.” Kiba laughs, very much enjoying your confusion. “Want me to do it again?”

This time, when you nod, he reaches up and boops you again, like a normal person.

You laugh with him, and enjoy the headiness of being with him. You had forgotten how good it feels to just let go and really have fun with him.

Mission or not, you can tell that this is a turning point for the two of you. There’s a new adventure ahead of you, and you’ve got both Kiba and Akamaru at your side, and have a feeling that you always will.

**Author's Note:**

> I want a nap


End file.
